Little Blue Dragon
"Little Blue Dragon"
a fairy tale every dragon mother tells her young
by Tagenar
Once upon a time there was a little blue dragon. He hatched, along with his eleven clutch-mates, in a cave high in a mountain in a nest made of treasure stolen from villages all around the world.
Every week or so since he hatched, his mother would take him and his clutch-mates to Akcra's cave. Akcra was a friend of his mother's, and she watched her hatchlings every now and then to give the little blue dragon's mother are break to leave the cave and hunt for food with her mate.
One day his mother left him and his clutch-mates with Akcra, and the egglings busied themselves playing the gold coins and trying to breathe fire, even though they all knew they were too young.
The little blue dragon found a strange insect and was trying to catch it, but his wings were too little to fly with, so he chased the strange insect deep down into the cave. He traveled so far and so deep that he reached the end of the treasure pile and began to crawl on bare dirt, something his mother had told him never to do alone. But the little blue dragon was so engrossed in catching the insect he forgot.
Eventually, the insect flew away, and the little blue dragon looked around and realized he was lost. Where was everyone? He was so far down in the cave he couldn't even hear the voices of his brothers and sisters. The little blue dragon became afraid and started to romp around, clawing at the rock walls and crying in the dark. Although he could see well enough in the dark, his eyes weren't fully grown and the darkness was frightening.
After wandering down the corridors looking and crying for help he heard a strange sound coming from a nearby chamber. He followed the walls and found the source of the sound. Light was coming from this chamber, and the little blue dragon was filled with glee and relief and he pranced to the light. He stood on all fours in the doorway, tiny wings folded to his back, and peered inside.
Aunt Akcra was in here. She was crouched on a tiny pile of treasure. Her eyes were vacant. The little blue dragon cried out to her and trotted towards her, relieved to see that the fear and isolation was all over. But she didn't turn around and face him, nuzzle him with her snout like she usually did. She just crouched there, staring ahead.
The little blue dragon nosed her foot and looked up at her. No reaction.
He nuzzled her foot harder. "Aunt Akcra?" he said.
Still no response. Now the little blue dragon was confused. Did he do something wrong?
He heard a soft plop and a large mass dropped next to him. He gasped and ran around aunt Akcra's leg, shivering in fear. After a moment his courage rose up and he peered around his aunt's leg. An egg was lying next to where he'd been standing. He was sure it hadn't been there before. Where did it come from?
The little blue dragon cautiously walked out from behind and examined the egg. He looked up just in time to see aunt Akcra lay another egg, right next to the first. She shifted slightly so her tail was hanging just a little more to the side.
The little blue dragon sat down under the shade of his aunt's tail and looked up. He watched her lay another egg. And another. And another. Aunt Akcra turned in a full circle, laying one egg at a time, each one coming to a rest next to the last.
After she laid twelve eggs, aunt Akcra still crouched, but something was different now. Her vacant stare was starting to fill back up with thought again. Meanwhile the little blue dragon touched each egg. Poked them. Tried to climb them. He was still too small to do any of these things, but he was fascinated by them.
"Oh my," came a familiar voice.
The little blue dragon turned, looked up into the eyes of his aunt. He jumped to her with relief.
"What are you doing here?" She opened her mouth and gently grabbed him by his wings. The little blue dragon squeaked and squirmed in glee as she lifted him off the ground and placed him on her back.
She turned and walked out of the chamber into the dark. The little blue dragon lay low and closed his eyes. The dark was a scary place to be and he clung to his aunt as she made her way through the caves. He thought about what he saw, and the eggs, and how fascinating the whole thing was.
"Aunt Akcra? Were you laying eggs?"
"Yes. I was."
"Can I lay eggs, too?"
Akcra chuckled. "Of course not. You can't lay eggs."
"But I want to. Why can't I?"
"You're a male," she said with a smile. "Males don't lay eggs."
"Oh..."
She continued walking down the winding, pitch-black passages. The little blue dragon held on. His courage built up, and he opened his eyes. He still couldn't see anything. He looked around as his aunt's shoulders rose and fell with each step. He thought some more about what he saw.
"Can I be a female?" he asked at last.
"No, silly," she said. "You can't be a female."
"But I wanna lay eggs, too."
"You'll understand someday."
But the little blue dragon didn't want to wait until someday. He wanted to have eggs, too, and he knew his mother would let him.
When his mother came back for them, he told her what he'd seen. She was surprised that he'd seen aunt Akcra laying eggs, but relieved that he hadn't gotten lost in the dark. He asked his mother if he could lay eggs, too, but to his disappointment she wouldn't let him either. But the little blue dragon didn't give up hope.
Back in his own cave, he tried to tell his egglings about what he saw, and that he was going to lay eggs, too. They all said the same thing: males don't lay eggs. By now the little blue dragon refused to listen to that. He was going to lay eggs of his own.
He thought of it often over the weeks. He wondered what it would be like to lay eggs of his own. His mother would be so proud of him! Everyone would! He imagined all the different ways he could, and how wonderful it would feel, but try as he might, imagine all he wanted, he couldn't figure out how. His mother wouldn't tell him how, and aunt Akcra said she couldn't tell him either.
But aunt Akcra did let him see the new clutch of eggs whenever he asked. None of his brothers or sisters wanted to see them, and aunt Akcra said that usually hatchlings aren't allowed near new eggs, but because he was a special little dragon, she let him. This made the little blue dragon feel privileged, and he would often curl up in the egg chamber and go to sleep. Aunt Akcra frequently had to take him from the chamber so he would play with his brothers and sisters again.
She also made him promise not to tell his mother that she was letting him see her eggs. He was proud to keep this little secret. Then more he saw the clutch, the more determined he became to lay his own eggs, but how could he when no one would tell him how?
A couple months after he saw his aunt lay the eggs, his father returned to the cave. The little blue dragon feared his father. He rarely saw him, and he had a distance about him, but he still never hurt him or any of his brothers or sisters, so that at least made him feel safe when he was around.
His father had brought back something special. He called them "chicken eggs."
Upon hearing the word, the little blue dragon pushed his brothers and sisters out of the way to be first to see the nests. Sitting nicely in each of the twelve nests his father had brought back were three eggs.
The little blue dragon took three of these eggs, nest and all, and carried them off. His brothers and sisters, however, ate the eggs straight from the nests. Some swallowed them whole, some cracked the eggs open and lapped the yolk inside. Not wanting to be made fun of, the little blue dragon took all three eggs and held them in his mouth. While everyone was occupied with the return of his father, the little blue dragon scampered off, down into the dark part of the cave, beyond the treasure and onto the dirt.
He'd explored his own cave weeks ago, and knew where to go. In no time he found the dimly lit chamber. He climbed up on the small pile of treasure and gently spat out the eggs. His tail wagged and his tiny wings fluttered as he looked at each one of them. They looked just the right size!
He picked one of them up in his jaws, rolled it around on his tongue until it was nice and wet. Then, using one of his paws, he took it out of his mouth and held it. He lowered his haunches, raised his tail and reached under his belly. He poked the egg up a little, searching for the place under his tail. He found a spot where the egg pushed up and made his breath catch. Just like his aunt Akcra had! Just like his mother had! The little blue dragon gently pushed it into this spot.
His mouth opened as he pushed the egg deeper under his tail. It hurt, but at the same time it felt strange and new and also good. He figured he must be doing something right; his eyes felt vacant and had no idea how much time had passed. The egg was now halfway in, and at its widest point. The little blue dragon panted and gasped, and gave it one more little push. The rest of the egg slid inside in one, long motion. The egg was gone.
The little blue dragon brought his front paw up and stood on all fours. He didn't need to try to lay the egg; it happened on its own. He pushed. It was all he could think of. Push. Push the egg out. It was such a struggle as the egg stretched him out again, but this time he couldn't use his hand to push.
He eeped. Gasped. Struggled. Now he knew it was working! These were the same sounds his aunt made. Now encouraged and more determined than ever, the little blue dragon threw his entire body into it. His legs helped him. He arched his back. Everything helped him lay the egg.
The egg was at its widest, and he pushed and pushed and gasped as his whole body helped, and Just when it felt like too much, the egg slipped out and landed on the treasure pile with an audible chink.
The little blue dragon's whole body sank and he panted from exhaustion. He looked down between his four legs at the egg. As he panted, his wings fluttered and his tail wagged. He did it! He laid an egg! Why wouldn't his aunt or his mother tell him how? Why was he supposed to wait until he was older to know what it felt like? It hurt, it was a strange mix of unpleasant pain but when it was over, it was so satisfying!
Wings fluttering, the little blue dragon moved to the side, and picked up the next egg. He wondered what it would be like to lay more than one at a time. He reached under himself and pushed the egg in. It went in remarkably easy this time. So easy there was no pain, only the satisfying feeling.
It slipped in. The little blue dragon stood still for a moment, feeling it in there. The urge to lay it was very strong, but he wanted it to be just like his aunt. He picked up the last egg, reached under himself and pushed it in. The third egg went in even easier than the second one had.
With both remaining eggs in him, he felt so strange. Full. His legs shivered and all he could think of was getting the eggs out. He pushed. He felt one of the eggs begin to push out. There was no pain this time, but it was still a little uncomfortable.
The little blue dragon pushed and panted, his whole body cooperating towards the single goal. He had a comfortable rhythm now, and that made it much easier to lay. He felt the egg's widest point, gasped, and then the egg slipped all the way out and clinked down on the treasure, right next to the first egg.
The little blue dragon turned slightly to the side, repositioning his stance so he'd lay the last egg right next to the second. His mother would be so proud of him for figuring it out by himself when she saw the eggs he laid!
After he laid the second egg, he felt the last egg still inside him. That feeling that it wasn't over was amazing. Frightening, painful, but satisfying at the same time. He began his rhythmic pushing. The egg began to slip out quite quickly, and the little blue dragon smiled. He gasped and panted at the egg's widest part. He was almost done!
pip
His tailhole tensed up--erk!
That hurt...
He felt something cold and wet running down his hind legs.
He looked down, under his belly. Something liquidy and stringy was on him. Pieces of eggshell were mixed in with the goo. He then remembered what the eggs looked like after his brothers and sisters had broken them open to eat. Oh no...
The little blue dragon whimpered, lowering himself to his stomach. He curled up so his muzzle could reach under his tail. Sure enough, there was the egg. In pieces.
The little blue dragon whimpered and whined. Quickly he licked the yolk out and picked the pieces of eggshell away from his tailhole. He tried to relax his tailhole, but every time he felt stabbing pain. A little blood leaked out as well. The little blue dragon cried and picked the pieces of shell that had gotten stuck in his tailhole out with his teeth. He got all he could see, but he still felt pain.
He cried , knowing in the back of his mind what he had to do now. He rose to his feet, assumed the egg laying position and pushed. He cried loud as the sharp shell pieces tried to come out, poking his tailhole. Some of them burrowed into him, and the little blue dragon whined and cried louder, wishing someone could hear him, but he remembered that he was so far down in the cave that no one would.
He pushed for some time, trying to force the pieces out, but the more he did the more painful it got. He reached under his belly and spread himself open with his claws to keep it from relaxing. He pushed again.
It worked. Painfully, the pieces of egg came out one by one. Hour after hour it felt like. After several pushes without pain, he curled up again and picked out the pieces of shell that had burrowed into the muscle, licking the blood out of the way so he could see them. One by one they came out.
He let go of himself and let his tailhole relax.
OWWWW!
He spread his fingers to keep his tailhole open, whimpering and whining as he felt around for the remaining pieces with his tongue. When his tongue touched something sharp and hard, he picked at it with his claws and pulled it out.
Finally, he relaxed his tailhole and did not feel any pain. He uncurled and lay down on the treasure pile, relaxing in the rewarding feelings of peace and calm. After a brief rest, he curled up again and licked himself.
Some time later, the bleeding finally stopped, and the little blue dragon unrolled onto his stomach, completely exhausted and thankful it was over. He almost fell asleep, but he woke up at the last instant, rolled to his feet and trotted out of the chamber, leaving the eggs behind. He looked back at what he made and winced. He decided not to show his mother the eggs he laid.
He walked through the dark passages. His paws found treasure, and he walked up on it. He followed the light, and the voices of his brothers and sisters and his mother and even his father. He was so glad to see them again.
The little blue dragon learned that he should leave the egg-laying to the females, and he lived happily ever after.